Twin Buttes, Rooster Hill & Burnt Mountain, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming (6-25-20)

Day 3 of  Lupe’s 1st summer of 2020 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming!

7:42 AM, 56ºF, junction of USFS Roads No. 15 & 165 –  Partly cloudy.  The morning air was cool and fresh, and a certain Carolina Dog was all rested up and ready for action!  She was in luck.  SPHP tromped N in a field of lupines W of USFS Road No. 15, while Lupe roamed happily among wildflowers and sagebrush.

Super easy terrain.  A gentle downslope led to Pass 8008 where Lupe and SPHP crossed the road.  Already only a little over a mile left to the higher of the Twin Buttes (8,235), which had been in sight all along.  Nothing like a quick peakbagging success to start the day off right, and success seemed assured.

A couple of minor high points were along the way.  Loopster side-hilled the first one, staying a bit to the SE, but did venture up HP8070.  Once she got there, most of the terrain ahead was thick with sagebrush, but a narrow strip along the ridge leading to Twin Buttes was merely grassy.

The American Dingo was soon at the base of the closest Twin Butte.  On the way over here, it had been easy to see that the top of the mountain slanted evenly down to the NW from a precipice along the entire SE face.  Only partially visible through the trees, a 2-tier line of smaller cliffs ran along the length of the heavily forested SW flank.  These cliffs, only 20 to 40 feet high, also slanted down to the NW.

Even if there wasn’t any direct way up through the cliff bands, SPHP was confident Lupe would be able to get around them.  All she had to do was follow them NW until they melted away.  The only question was how far NW she would have to go.

Starting up, Lupe angled N climbing a grassy slope full of wildflowers, scattered sagebrush and boulders.  Entering the forest, she soon arrived at the base of the lower cliffs.  Loopster followed the cliffs only a short distance NW before coming to a wide breach that allowed her to easily get above them.  One cliff band down, one to go!

Lupe headed N again following an animal trail up through the forest.  She didn’t have to go very far before the upper cliffs came into view.

These cliffs were a more formidable obstacle – a continuous vertical wall of rock 30 feet high.  Below it, the steeply sloping terrain was chock full of big boulders.

Scrambling toward a small break to the NW, it quickly became clear that route wasn’t going to work.  Loop was going to have to retreat a bit, and go farther NW than that.  However, only a short distance back to the SE, SPHP noticed another minor break in the cliff line that might be worth checking out.  Investigation revealed a steep chute going up a fairly narrow cleft.

Hmm.  SPHP gave it a go first.  At the top of the chute was a scramble up solid rock.  The rock was essentially vertical, but at only 6 to 8 high, a few decent hand and foot holds allowed SPHP to get up above it next to a couple of big rocks with a large hollow spot beneath them.  SPHP had stuffed the hiking poles into this grotto on the way up.  It took a couple of minutes to descend into the grotto to retrieve the poles and get back out.

Success!  Well, partly.  SPHP had made it up onto the upper cliff band, but Lupe was still way back down at the bottom of the chute, looking very anxious by now.  While she could have climbed the chute easily enough, no way was she going to be able to get past that last exposed scrambly part on her own, and SPHP had no way to help her.

Along the edge of the cliffs 10 feet NW of the grotto, a log covered with moss was propped up at a slant.  SPHP stashed the backpack next to it.

You still down there, Looper?

Of course, where else would I be?  What’s going on, SPHP?  Did you bring my Dingo wings?  How do you expect me to get up there, anyway?  You aren’t going to abandon me down here, are you?

No, I’m not going to abandon you, but I am leaving for a few minutes to look for another way up.  Shouldn’t take long, so stay right there.  I’ll call you when I find one.  And no, I didn’t bring any Dingo wings, so please be patient and don’t do anything crazy!

Lupe whimpered as SPHP disappeared from view.

Heading NW down through the forest, SPHP stayed fairly close to the edge of the cliffs.  200 feet from the grotto and mossy log, a large breach appeared in the cliff line.  No sweat!  Lupe wouldn’t have any trouble at all ascending here.  SPHP began shouting.

OK, Loop!  Come this way!  Loop!  Come!  Looooooop!  Luuuuuupe!

Silence.  A minute later, here came a brown and white flash bounding through the woods.

Good job, SPHP!

For once, aye?  Welcome to “Dingo Breaks”, Loopster!

Thank you, SPHP!  Shouldn’t be anything to Twin Buttes now!

Lupe and SPHP started up the mountain.  A quick stop was made at the mossy log to retrieve the pack.  The SE trek higher resumed after a big drink of water.

The forest had enough obstacles to make travel right along the edge of the cliffs problematic.  Deadfall, low juniper bushes, and low branches made it advisable to stick with animal trails wherever possible.  The top of Twin Buttes couldn’t be too far away.

600 or 700 feet from the mossy log, Lupe came to a clearing.  By now the terrain wasn’t as steep, and even the forest was more open.  Sunlight streamed through a narrow band of trees just ahead.

Careful here, Loop.  This is it!  We’re almost to the top, and the SE edge.

The sun was shining brightly as the American Dingo emerged from the forest along the SE edge of Twin Buttes (8,235 ft.).  Lupe was farther NE than SPHP expected, and right at the highest rocks.  In most places, the forest didn’t extend clear to the edge of the cliffs.  A 5 to 10 foot wide shelf of flat rock bordered the rim, making it easy to move around.

The Twin Buttes aren’t all that big, yet the views were impressive.  800 feet lower, a long stretch of the North Tongue River was in sight.  The river could easily be heard rushing through the valley.  SPHP could pick out Black Mountain (9,489 ft.), Lookout Mountain (10,147 ft.), and Dome Peak (10,828 ft.) among the sweeping views to the E and S.

Time for a break!  Lupe gladly helped devour a chocolate coconut bar while SPHP enjoyed the views.  Once the bar completed its vanishing act, exploring the SE rim was in order.  Loop first went SW a little way.  The G6 was visible as a tiny dot along USFS Road No. 15.  Much closer by, HP8070 was in sight, as well as Garden of the Gods (9,163 ft.) 5 miles beyond it.

Of course, Loopster’s exploration of the SE rim wouldn’t be complete without venturing NE far enough to see the other Twin Butte.  Passing by the summit again as she headed back that way, Lupe lost only minimal elevation by the time the other Twin Butte came into view.

The topo map showed the NE Twin Butte was 50 feet lower than the SW Twin Butte where Lupe was.

Are we going to go climb the NE butte, too, SPHP?

We certainly could, Looper.  It’s tempting, but this SW butte is clearly higher, and the views will be about the same over there.  Maybe this is good enough?  We’ve sort of got the idea of what’s around here, don’t we?  Plenty of time left to explore some other peaks today, and see something different, if you’d rather do that.  Wha’dya think?

This is fun, but variety is the spice of life!  Whatever you’d like to do, though.  I’m just thrilled to be here in the Bighorns and back in action again!  The NE Twin Butte is fine with me.

Well, let’s not, and say we did.  We can’t climb ’em all, you know.  So many mountains, and so little time.

Whatever.  That’s cool, as long as we get to do something else.  Onward, then!  SPHP, ho!

Hey, that’s supposed to be my line!  Puppy, ho!  Lead the way, Loop.

Lupe returned to the clearing N of the cliffs.  The clearing was long and skinny, and got her a lot closer to the SW edge of the mountain.  Then it was NW back down through the forest to the grotto and mossy log, but even SPHP wasn’t going to try to use that chute route again, not when Dingo Breaks was only a little farther and so much easier.  Heading down Dingo Breaks, SPHP noticed a couple of cairns for the first time – one near the top, and one near the bottom.

From Dingo Breaks, it was just a matter of retracing the rest of the route Lupe had taken up.  Soon she was past HP8070 again, approaching USFS Road No. 15.  A pleasant stroll back to the G6 was all that remained.  (10:41 AM, 64ºF)

The Burgess picnic ground was only a couple of miles from where the G6 was parked.  A bit early for lunch, but why not?  On the way there, SPHP stopped to look at a plaque close to the junction with USFS Road No. 163.  The supports for the plaque were falling apart, but the display itself was undamaged.  Turned out, it was about Twin Buttes!

At the Burgess picnic ground, Lupe and SPHP shared a can of beef stew along the bank of the N Tongue River.  By noon, the American Dingo was on her way again.  SPHP drove to Burgess Junction, then turned W on Hwy 14A.

Lupe enjoyed herself barking at cows, while SPHP kept an eye out for Wheddon Spring.  In the meantime, the weather was deteriorating.  By the time SPHP figured out where Wheddon Spring was, heading up Fishook Creek seemed inadvisable.  Sunshine was a thing of the past.  Gray clouds scudded across the sky, and it was getting colder instead of warmer out.  Dropping by the Bald Mountain campground for water, thunder rumbled in the distance.

SPHP drove back E a couple of miles to USFS Road No. 11, turned N, and was soon parking the G6 0.5 mile W of Rooster Hill (9,420 ft.) on the N side of No. 134, just as it started to rain.

We might as well have climbed the NE Twin Butte after all, SPHP!

So it seems, Loop.  Not looking too good out there, is it?  Think I’ll work on the trip journal while we wait and see what happens.  No sense going out and getting sopping wet.

That left Lupe with little to do except stare at the vacant fields out the window, or snooze.  The pitter-patter of the raindrops put her under in nothing flat.  Once the trip journal was caught up, SPHP faced the same dilemma.  Outside, a series of light rain showers swept by, none of them serious, but clouds now clung to all the mountaintops.  Might as well take a nap.

5:35 PM, 52ºF, 0.5 mile W of Rooster Hill – The windshield was dry when SPHP came to, must not have been raining for a while now.  Still not a speck of blue sky anywhere, but the clouds had lifted.  Rooster Hill and Burnt Mountain (9,492 ft.) were both in view.

Kind of late to be setting off on new adventures, but it was June.  The light would last several hours yet, and neither objective was all that big or far away.  If Looper still wanted to get anything more done today, though, she’d better not dilly-dally.

The American Dingo was already awake.

About time, sleepyhead!  I’ve been waiting for you.  C’mon, SPHP, let’s go!

SPHP was on it.  Within minutes, Lupe was heading E on USFS Road No. 134, straight for Rooster Hill.  Success was guaranteed.  Rooster Hill was a piece of cake, just a big, green, grassy dome, the N side of which was forested.  All the rest of it was all out in the open.

As No. 134 began to curve N, Lupe left the road continuing E.  Crossing a wide, shallow drainage, she started up Rooster Hill’s W slope.  A mere 300 vertical feet to the summit!  The degree of incline didn’t vary much, but was steepest just as Lupe reached a rocky escarpment only a few feet high.  By then, she wasn’t far from the top.

Above the escarpment, the slope steadily decreased as Lupe proceeded higher.  As expected, upon reaching the top, the entire 0.5 acre summit region proved to be featureless and flat.  Not a tree or bush anywhere.  Looper had 360º views from Rooster Hill (9,420 ft.), but the sky was dreary, and it was just plain chilly due to a N breeze.  No more than about 45ºF.  Not exactly miserable, but not all that pleasant, either.

Notable peaks in view included Bald Mountain (10,042 ft.) off to the SW, Little Bald Mountain (9,907 ft.) to the SSE, and Medicine Mountain (9,962 ft.) which was due W.  Duncum Mountain (9,831 ft.) was also in sight off to the NW.

Conditions didn’t encourage a prolonged stay.  With Burnt Mountain beckoning less than 1.5 miles to the NE, Lupe didn’t linger.  She soon started down Rooster Hill’s N slope, aiming for the saddle leading to Burnt Mountain, a little more than 400 feet below.

The first part of the descent on open terrain was easy.  Lupe avoided the forest as long as she could, but halfway down the open ground ended.  An old dirt road entered the forest here, which seemed providential.  That illusion was dispelled as soon as Loop got a good look at it.  A bunch of icky deadfall was strewn perpendicularly across the road.

The good news was that it really couldn’t be all that much farther down to the saddle now.  What, maybe 200 vertical feet and 0.125 mile?  Lupe and SPHP plunged ahead, trying to follow the road, but the deadfall didn’t diminish.  Progress was excruciatingly slow.

Before long, SPHP was ready to give up on the road.  Staying off to the W (L) of it on somewhat higher ground, the American Dingo now tried her luck deep in the forest itself.  However, the woods were almost as big a mess as the road had been.  The deadfall kept forcing Lupe farther from the road, which soon disappeared from sight.

Time dragged by.  Progress remained sporadic and dreadfully slow.  This couldn’t go on much longer, could it?  But it did.

Seems to be getting colder and darker doesn’t it, SPHP?

Yeah, and I can’t believe how wild this place seems.  The map doesn’t say anything about a Rooster Hill Wilderness, but here we are.  Keep going.  I sure don’t want to spend the night here.

At long last, Lupe came across an animal trail.  Following it N, it soon turned W and started to fade.  The direction hardly mattered.  Even a faint trail going the wrong way was better than trying to force a route through the woods.  Happily, this trail led to more trails, which were in better condition and practically deadfall free.  Loop soon found one heading NE, the right direction.

After finding the trails, it didn’t take long to finally escape the Rooster Hill Wilderness, and get down to the saddle leading to Burnt Mountain.  The saddle proved to be a large, rather muddy opening in the forest.  Unmarked, USFS Road No. 120 came up to this opening from the W, but Lupe ignored it, continuing NE across the saddle.  On the other side, she picked up another, rougher road (No. 120.01) which took her back up into the trees.

This road was not choked with deadfall, making life easy.  Eventually the road began to fade, but by then the forest was thinning out.  Lupe came to a downed gate in a barbed wire fence.  Shortly after passing the gate, she passed the last of the trees, too.

A single track trail, all that remained of the road, continued higher near another fence line.  Lupe followed it a little way, but since it wasn’t going to the top of the mountain, she soon left the trail to angle over to the ridgeline.  All that remained was a long trudge up the open slope leading to the summit.

Lupe and SPHP weren’t the only ones on the mountain.  As Lupe began to get close to the top, two giant deers spotted her approach.  They ran off to the W, disappearing from view.  The American Dingo was keenly interested in them, and greatly disappointed that they hadn’t stuck around to get acquainted.

At the very end of the ascent, the route steepened.  Looper came to the only rocks she had seen the on the whole way up.  She climbed through a bit of scree composed of thin, flat stones.  Small outcroppings along the SE edge of the summit region contained multiple layers of these stones.  A tall wooden post stuck up out of a big cairn at the high point.  This was it.  Lupe had reached the true summit of Burnt Mountain (9,492 ft.).

SPHP wasn’t entirely certain that was true.  Burnt Mountain also had a second summit another mile farther N.  From here, it looked just as high.  The N summit had also been visible from down by the G6, and from there, it actually looked higher.  The topo map would have put an end to the debate, but the only portion of it SPHP had brought along didn’t extend all the way to the N summit.

Maybe Lupe ought to go over to the N summit, too, just in case it actually was higher?  Even if it wasn’t, it was definitely the more interesting high point.  Big rock formations were visible over that way.  Might be fun.

As SPHP stood pondering this notion, fog rolled in hiding the N summit from view.  Too late!  No sense in going all that way now.  Might as well stay right here and enjoy the views.  All the same peaks Lupe had seen from Rooster Hill were on display here, too.  Retreating SW back to the rock outcroppings along the SE rim, SPHP sat down.  Moments later, the whole world began to blur and fade away.

SPHP congratulated Lupe on her successful ascents of Burnt Mountain and Rooster Hill.  She listened carefully, then curled up on SPHP’s lap.  A warm Dingo felt good.  SPHP stroked Lupe’s soft ears, while waiting for the views to clear again.  Fog streamed by, as a NE breeze kept pushing a cloud directly at Burnt Mountain.  Instead of clearing, everything turned gray except this little island lost in the featureless sky.

On close examination, the diminutive Wyoming tundra was actually quite colorful, full of tiny flowers.

Time ticked away.  Now and then brief breaks in the cloud permitted glimpses down into the enormous valley of Half Ounce Creek and the Little Bighorn River.  Then the cold fog would stream in, and it would all vanish like a phantom again.  A sense of eerie remoteness and absolute solitude grew.  Something was going to happen.  Something magical.

Nearly half an hour went by, then suddenly it grew lighter.  The fog was breaking up!  The heavens were still hidden by much higher clouds, but nearby mountains reappeared, wisps of fog still clinging to them.

Here’s our chance, Loopster!  Onward!  Puppy, ho!

No need to tell the Carolina Dog twice.  Lupe returned to the summit pole.  Off to the NNE, the N summit of Burnt Mountain was in sight again.  She headed for it, beginning a long, gradual descent along the gentle ridge leading that way.

Up on the broad, obstacle-free, grassy ridge it didn’t take long to get there.  Lupe was soon beyond the low point and on her way up again.  The first rock formations of the N summit region were dead ahead.

These first rock formations weren’t the high point, but proved to be among the largest and most interesting of the entire N summit region.  Sort of a strange place.  Below a dolomite platform, a dark cave led deep into a crack in the mountain.  Looper got up onto the platform, but SPHP warned her away from that vaguely threatening black cave.

All the dolomite formations were along the W side of the long summit ridge.  The E side was all rounded and grassy.  The American Dingo had barely made it to the rocks, when fog began to roll in again.  Visibility shriveled away.  Loop was already here, though, and the rock formations were fun to explore.  She continued N in search of the high point, still gradually gaining elevation.  Dim views of higher ground continued to appear ahead.

After going farther than SPHP thought she would have to, Lupe finally saw a noticeably higher spot still some distance away.  That hill had to be the N summit!

The fog made it seem farther away than it really was.  The Carolina Dog was soon there.  All the way here, SPHP had feared the N summit might actually be some dolomite pillar Lupe couldn’t get up on.  However, she was already past all the big rock formations.  At the top, scattered stones were all she found.

As Lupe arrived, the fog was dissipating again.  Suddenly only a few wisps remained, revealing an almost level plain stretching away to the N.  Only slightly lower than the N summit, the plain featured several scattered sinkholes.

Although higher clouds remained overhead, it was now possible to see that the sun was actually much lower than SPHP had thought.

Hah!  We might be in luck, Looper!  Possible we’ll get to see quite a sunset.

I’d rather see a squirrel, SPHP, but that’s not looking too likely.

Nope, not up here.  Appears we’ve still got a little time before the sun goes down.  Want to explore out to the N end of the sinkhole plain?  Looks like there might be a big view.

May as well.  Maybe we’ll see another giant deer?

No such luck.  Lupe crossed the entire sinkhole plain, which gradually veered off toward the NE, without seeing any animals at all.  At the far end were several small rock outcroppings.  Loop went to the very last one, the lowest of them all.  Beyond it, Burnt Mountain sank away much more steeply.

SPHP was right!  From here, Lupe had an impressive view of the Little Bighorn River canyon.  Miles away, she could also see much of the NW half of Dry Fork Ridge (8,480 ft.).

Off to the NW, clouds were starting to glow.  Sunset was imminent!  Lupe and SPHP hurried back across the sinkhole plain hoping to get to Burnt Mountain’s N summit before the sun was gone.  Quite a few clouds were on the horizon.  Impossible to tell if a glorious sunset was coming, or if the golden orb would slip away with little fanfare.

The sky darkened as earth’s golden god sank behind a cloud bank.  Ugh.  Over already?  No!  As Lupe reached the N summit, the sun broke though again.  Bathed in a feeble glimmer, the American Dingo watched the crowning glory of an already magical evening unfold.  Clouds on the NW horizon turned to flame.

Lupe remained at the N summit until the fiery orb performed its final vanishing act.  Then it was time to make tracks.  Heading S while the western sky was still ablaze, the Carolina Dog again passed by all the weird dolomite formations she’d seen in the fog earlier on.

Before the dying light of day faded into history forever, Lupe scampered up onto one of the last dolomite platforms she would come to.  The cool air was now calm.  The sky was clearing.  Night was surely coming, but for a magnificent, unforgettable moment, Lupe stood high on Burnt Mountain while heaven beckoned, all pink, gold, and blue.It was all over and done with long before the Carolina Dog made it back to the true summit and it’s 9 foot pole again.  Lingering, Lupe peered W into the growing gloom, the dark outlines of the mountains highlighted against a dimming sky.

Dusk deepened descending the SW slope.  One of the giant deers was back!  Looper was pleased, even though it didn’t choose to stick around this time, either.  Down at the saddle, the flashlight had to come out.  Avoiding the tangle of the Rooster Hill Wilderness, Lupe headed W on USFS Road No. 120.

Must have rained awfully hard sometime today.  The road was mighty muddy.  Ruts and big holes full of water glistened in the flashlight beam.  Lupe trotted along, sometimes off road, the impenetrable black void of the forest pressing in on both sides.  No. 120 ended at a big turnaround circle from which USFS Road No. 134 left heading S.  Still 0.5 mile to the G6, maybe a bit more.

What an evening it had been!  Overhead, a pale crescent moon glowed, softly blurred, as if seen in a dream.  (End 10:43 PM, 42ºF)

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